LITMIR.BIZ

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Her van crept around the street corners and she bit at her lip. The drive from Cairns had taxed its engine severely and she was beginning to doubt its ability to do the return trip.

      Her flat was on a side street off Weyba Road at the back of Noosa. Normally a permanent rental, it wasn't as up-market as the holiday apartments, but she was grateful for the cheaper rent. As soon as she opened the doors and windows to let in some fresh air, she slipped off her sandals, took her mobile from her bag and pressed a menu number.

      It was answered on the fourth ring. As she listened to her grandmother's voice loneliness swept over Kirri. Then her daughter's 'Mum, Mum, Mum,' bubbled through and she fought back tears. A month without holding her precious child, a month without smelling her soft baby skin and feeling baby kisses sloppy and warm on her cheek. Even the nightly ritual of a telephone call couldn't lessen the pain.

      Darkness crept in as she ended the call. She sat for a while, grateful not to see the shabby furnishings, imagining herself back in O'Connor Valley, cuddling her daughter, rocking her to sleep, smoothing the dark curls from her forehead.

      Daniel Brand's face suddenly flashed into her mind - in the hospital, unconscious, his long eyelashes curled onto his cheeks. There was something about the tilt of his head … She closed her eyes, tried to remember. Blackness. Always blackness. She fought the frustration and despair that welled up inside her. Since Catelyn's birth she'd thought she'd conquered the need to know, relegated it to that part of her life that was over, but lately …

      With an effort she walked to the kitchen area and turned on the light. In a few days she'd be home again. It was a consoling thought. As she took vegetables from the fridge to cut up for a stir-fry, her thoughts returned to Daniel Brand and the strange sensation that had shot through her as she'd touched him. A sensation she couldn't quite name.

      A sensation she wanted to feel again.

      Her body was pliant beneath him, her skin warm with desire, eyes glazing with the heady rush of ecstasy. His hand closed over a full, firm breast and he revelled in its silky smoothness, the way the nipple pressed into his palm. He could feel himself tighten, the mindless spiral concentrating deep in his belly, the urge to -

      A sharp ringing sound nudged through the boundaries of his mind.

      He fought his body's return to consciousness, cried out against the loss, the lack of completion. Flinging out his arm, he grabbed blindly for the phone beside the bed.

      'Yes!' Even to his own ears his voice sounded harsh. He made an effort, softened his tone. 'Hello?'

      'Daniel? Philip Weyburn. I'm sorry, I've just realised it's only seven a.m. there. I forgot about daylight saving. It's actually eight o'clock here in Sydney. I've just come into the office and there's a note from Stella with my flight bookings. I'll be arriving at the Sunshine Coast on Friday morning. Will you be able to meet me?'

      Daniel pushed himself into a sitting position. Pain shot through his head and the aches in his body protested against the sudden movement. He sucked in an involuntary breath.

      'Daniel? Are you all right?'

      'Yes. I had a slight altercation with a four wheel drive yesterday. It didn't seem to think I should be walking on the same piece of road it wanted.'

      'What are you saying? It hit you?'

      'Not too hard luckily.'

      'Did you report it to the Police? Did they arrest the driver?'

      Daniel eased his legs off the bed, wondering if the ache between them would last as long as the aches in the rest of his body. He needed a long hot shower, a cup of coffee, and something to eat. Preferably in that order. 'No, they didn't catch him. I have to see them today about it. Philip, I'll call you back later, okay?'

      'Sure, mate. Just look after yourself. Bye.'

      With a sigh of relief Daniel replaced the phone on its cradle. Philip Weyburn was the last person he felt like talking to. As a partner in Brand & Weyburn Constructions, Daniel had decided it was time to look more closely into the company. The death ten days ago of Philip's father, Jim, had precipitated this trip to Australia. Although he sympathised with the younger man's loss, Daniel found Philip's ingratiating manner irritating.

      At the moment he found everything irritating. Normally he would never sleep in this late. It must be the painkillers. He stood up. His head still hurt but the nausea and dizziness were gone. Looking at the ugly bruising that had formed on his thigh and hip, he gratefully acknowledged his luck that no bones had been broken.

      He walked into the en-suite bathroom, easing the stiffness from his leg, and changed his mind about the shower. The spa bath in the corner was built for two, and he figured it would comfortably accommodate his height and breadth.

      It wasn't as good as a massage, but the jets of bubbling water eased a lot of the aches from his muscles. He wished they could ease the confusion from his mind. Yesterday his hurt and his anger at Kirri had prevented him from thinking coherently about the situation. He found it impossible to believe that she didn't know who he was. All right, it was two years ago, and they had spent only three weeks together, but it was a very intimate three weeks. Had she had so many lovers that he was just another in a long, less-than-memorable line?

      Damn! She couldn't be that good an actress. She'd been the most honest, genuine woman he'd ever met, and she appeared still to be that way. What the hell was going on?

      The bubbles surged around him with the same lack of direction as his thoughts. Ten minutes later, he had finally decided he would walk down to the gallery and confront Kirri, when the doorbell rang. A few seconds later it rang again. The police didn't know where he was staying, so it couldn't be them coming to take his statement. Kirri? Doubtful. She'd said she would call around, but Kirri going anywhere this early in the morning wouldn't be the Kirri he knew. Even at nine in the morning she had been hard to rouse.

      Annoyance stabbed through him as the doorbell rang again. He stepped out of the spa, hurriedly dried himself and wrapped the towel around his waist. He walked into the living room and opened the door.

       'Kirri!'

      He wasn't sure if it was the shock of seeing her, or the impact her clinging silk dress had on his already strung-out libido, but his voice had a harshness to it which made her flinch. A soft rosy tinge crept over her face and neck.

      'I … I'm sorry. I obviously got you out of the shower. I can come back later.'

      'No. No, it's all right.' She looked better in the flesh than she did in his dream, and his body cried out for hers with an urgency that shook him. 'It's … so early. I was surprised. Come in.' He gestured towards the lounge. 'Sit down. I'll just get dressed.'

      As he turned towards the bedroom he heard Kirri's sharp intake of breath. He stopped, and looked back at her. She stared at him, her eyes wide.

      'Your back … The scars …'

      'A bear.' He was swept by a sense of deja vu that was only too real. They'd had this conversation before. 'One of her cubs had its paw caught under a fallen rock. I was lifting the rock to free it when the mother hit me. She must have thought I was trying to harm the cub.'

      'Was the cub all right?'

      The deja vu shifted. The first time, Kirri had asked how had he escaped from the mother bear. This time her focus had switched to the cub. Interesting.

      'Yes. Just as the mother hit me the cub pulled free.'

      'Luckily.'

      Daniel shrugged. 'The mother bear would have tried to get the cub free if I hadn't been successful.'

      Kirri smiled. 'I meant for you. I guessed the mother bear turned her attention to the cub, otherwise you'd have more scars than just one set of claw marks down your back. Was it a grizzly?'

      'No. We only have black bears and brown bears around Seattle.'

      'Again lucky for you. Grizzlies are twice as big.'

      'How did you know that?'

      Kirri's

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